The U.S Conference of Mayors (USCM) is making affordable housing and community development key priorities in its policy agenda. At the organization’s 85th Annual Meeting, incoming USCM President Mayor Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans joined his colleagues in unveiling their bipartisan proposal, Leadership for America: Mayors’ Agenda for the Future. One of the agenda’s four top priorities calls to “create equitable communities to increase opportunity for all,” by investing in “inclusive neighborhoods, affordable housing, and community development.”
The agenda specifically proposes increased funding for the national Housing Trust Fund, public housing, and the Housing Choice Voucher Program, as well as for timely implementation of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule.
USCM also adopted six resolutions stressing the importance of investment in affordable housing and community development, calling on Congress to create and preserve programs to address the nation’s affordable housing crisis.
“The United States Conference of Mayors urges Congress to invest in critical programs that prevent homelessness, create affordable housing, and support community development and job creation,” stated one of the resolutions. The resolutions further express the Conference’s support for specific legislative action, including passage of the “Affordable Housing Credit and Improvement Act,” continued authorization and funding for the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, and increased HUD funding for federal housing assistance.
The USCM is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more, with each city represented by its mayor.
Read Leadership for America: Mayors’ Agenda for the Future at: http://bit.ly/2tpnlQ9
Read USCM’s adopted resolutions on housing and community development at: http://bit.ly/2uJNYyI
Learn more about the federal budget and appropriations at: http://nlihc.org/issues/budget
Learn more about the national Housing Trust Fund at: http://nlihc.org/issues/nhtf
Learn more about the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule at: http://nlihc.org/issues/affh